When it was first revealed that Bucky was going to be Captain America, there was a fair bit of outrage in the comic community. It seemed to be primarily from people who weren’t reading Captain America comics, since Bucky had been built up rather well around that time. I enjoyed the character and when I saw the statue, I had to grab it, even though I knew Bucky’s time as Captain America would be limited. Let’s take a look at the Sideshow Collectibles Bucky as Captain America Premium Format statue!

Let’s start it off with a look at the inner box. There aren’t that many parts and it’s quite easy to assemble, always a plus for a statue. The exclusive offers you a print, pictured towards the end of the review, and an extra unmasked head. I don’t remember hearing any complaints about the packing and I certainly didn’t have any.

Upon assembling it, you’ll notice how tall it is. Between the base and the pose, Bucky takes up a LOT of space. There’s a good chance he won’t fit the standard shelving you’re using for PF statues unless they have a lot of extra vertical space. I’d suggest some sort of shelving with a very large bottom shelf since my personal preference for displaying him was at a lower angle.

There was one minor issue a bunch of people ran into when they received this statue. The head on the gargoyle was often slanted. Mine is a LITTLE bit slanted but I don’t notice it unless I’m looking for it. However, some people had serious slants, so you’ll want to check your statue when you receive it.

The sculpting in general is excellent. I like the look of the gargoyle, the base, the musculature, and the default head. The pose has a good strength to it. My only issue with the sculpt is the neck line can be rather obvious from certain angles, though with the pose, I doubt they could’ve hidden it much better. For those with the exclusive, I found the exclusive head to be somewhat subpar. Not Cyclops bad, just not what I was looking for. Though I do like the way the cowl is folded back.

The metallic paint really brings it, it grabs your attention. The red and white elements of the costume contrast really nicely with the black fabric. The shading adds a nice bit of dimension and the base has a surprising variety of depth as well. The gravel, the block areas, and the gargoyle all have their own separate looks.

I believe this was the first time Sideshow used this particular type of fabric technique, at least on the Marvel line, and they nailed it. The black fabric is gorgeous and adheres to the statue’s shape well, avoiding the occasional pajamas complaint you hear about Wolverine or Sabretooth. Their use of fabric has definitely improved, the Black Cat statue also had an impressive costume.

There’s the art print from the exclusive. One of the better ones I’ve seen from Sideshow!

4.5/5. An excellent statue for Bucky fans and at the very least, a good statue for fans of Captain America. I don’t expect a better one to be released. The exclusive, while not necessary, is nice if you can get it at a good price.

I love Bucky as a character…what Ed Brubaker did on the pages of Captain America is simply great. The new Winter Soldier series is also very cool to read! I was actually sad when the inevitable happened and the shield went back to Steve…but Bucky’s run as Cap was awesome! I have both the Bowen Bucky Cap (also a great variant statue) and this one, also the exclusive version. I display it most of the time with the unmasked head, because I think the masked Bucky looks somewhat bored…lacking intensity…and also the beckline is hidden! Great review agree a 100% (except the Ex head being subpar;-)) !

I liked the Bowen Bucky Cap but between the two, the dynamic pose of this one really pushed me towards it! I’ll definitely agree the unmasked head has more intensity going for it, it’s just the sculpting that didn’t quite do it for me. But to each their own!

But yeah, any fan of Captain America should definitely read the Brubaker run, it’s my favourite Cap run to date.